I'm not a Khajiit!
by Kuromaru-kun
Summary: Having been a Phantom for millions of years, Naruto is given an ultimatum by the Daedra: Watch the Dragonborn or make an enemy of the Daedra. Now he's alive, foxified, and keeping tabs on an Imperial with a bleeding heart.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Naruto would probably be the first to say that being dead probably wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. Yeah, sometimes he forgot he was dead and tried to initiate conversation with some random passerby, usually ending with the man getting some weird expression, before quickly leaving the area, but it wasn't all that bad. His prankster spirit, for one, was always happy, as he was able to scare the living daylights out of anyone he wanted. He fondly remembered the time he'd taken up residence in some bachelor's house and then played "rearrange your furniture when you aren't looking" every time the man turned his back. That had lasted a good 3 months before he got bored of it.

So Naruto watched the world change around him. Watched continents move, little by little, and even saw new spirits rise to power, dethroning Kami with some weird hierarchy of power. All of those "Diedra" and "Daedric Princes" arrived without much of a friendly nod from Naruto. He didn't care for those beings, as they were usually very full of themselves, but the Daedric Princes could be pleasant once and a while. Really, the only one he avoided was the one who wouldn't shut up about cheese. Honestly, why did one all-powerful being have to be stuck on cheese that much? At least the cheese palace he'd built had been pleasant enough. Except for maybe the 5th or so day, when it started turning green.

Naruto shook his translucent head in amusement as he sat cross-legged on a dark rooftop looking over the Markarth city-scape. The Daedric princes were much better than the Daedra as a race. The Daedra were a race of warriors who fought non-stop and were very secretive. Or… Naruto didn't really care enough to find out, as they weren't in his plain of existence. He preferred to keep to his own business and preferred the other beings to keep to theirs. Manners were manners.

"Hello, Rev." A feminine voice greeted from behind. Naruto's eye involuntarily twitched at the name. He'd refused to give his name to the little princes, so they'd taken to calling him "Rev" which was a word for "Fox" in the old language. One of the languages that came about after he died, he noted.

"What do you want, Nocturnal?" Naruto asked, turning his head so he could see her in his peripheral vision. Living up to her name, she blended into the darkness very well, leaving him only a darkened silhouette to address.

"I was hoping you'd help me with something." She said, her voice sounding sickeningly sweet. Naruto once again twitched.

"What do you want from me that your siblings can't do?" He asked with a grimace. Nocturnal wasn't someone he could say _no_ to.

"I need you to live again." She said rather bluntly. Naruto let out a strangled gasp as he turned his head to stare at her.

"What?"

"I said-"

"I know what you said. Why do you want me to join those miserable people?" Naruto asked, cutting Nocturnal off. His red eyes reflected off the metal on Nocturnal's dress, showing just how much power they held. His elongated irises sharpened to a narrow point. Nocturnal, used to beings much more powerful than the blond phantom, brushed it off.

"Because we need you to. Well… Sheograth didn't really care. And Hircine still wants to hunt you… And Molag wants to enslave you… Alright, only a few of us need you…" she half-heartedly explained. Naruto continued to stare at Nocturnal.

"Aaaaand Meridia wants to kill you for being Undead by nature… And Namira wants to eat you… Vaermina wants to torture you for… no reason, actually… Mephala wants to play a little game… Which I bet you'd rather not play… And Boethiah has some plan about making you his personal assassin." Nocturnal stated with a sheepish smile. Naruto deepened his stare.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"More or less… Azura and Malacath are the ones who sent me… And the rest are either indifferent or stuck for an undisclosed amount of time." She said, taking a seat next to him.

"Am I allowed to say no?"

"Do you really want 3 Daedra as your enemies?" she asked pointedly.

"Not especially, no," Naruto answered.

"Then it is in your best interest to agree." Nocturnal said with a smirk.

Naruto remained silent before speaking up.

"What's the job?" he asked, his tone reeking with annoyance.

"We need you to protect the monitor the dragonborn. He's not the most tolerant of Nords, in all honesty, and we're worried he'll do something unwise." She said, uncomfortably shifting her legs.

"You're scared… of a man?" he asked in surprise.

"He's not just a man, he's the Dragonborn. We can't eliminate him if he does something to offend us because he is a creation of the Aedras and we can't touch anything of their creation."

Naruto was once again reminded that there was another group of all-powerful beings that were at odds with the Daedra. Except the Aedra were more reclusive than the Princes. Naruto had never met the Aedra, and he was happy for the time being. They sounded too uptight – not that he didn't have a reputation for being uptight as well – for his tastes. Naruto shook his head, banishing the thoughts for another time.

"If I have no other choice, then I'll do it. If only to preserve my standing among the Daedra." He added the last part as an afterthought.

"I knew you'd agree!" she said, the statement ending in a strange girlish squeal that freaked Naruto out more than anything he'd ever heard.

"So how do I go about living? Kind of a hard thing to ask of me right- UGH!" Naruto collapsed onto the ground as Nocturnal let go of a pressure point on his neck. She ignored the tingle in the back of her mind that said that it shouldn't be possible to knock out a phantom with a pressure point. She was a Daedra. She could do what she wanted.

XxXxXx

Naruto opened his eyes with a groan, before immediately shutting them again in pain. The sunlight was too bright for his blue eyes, especially after so long without having seen anything.

After a moment, he opened his eyes to look around. He was sitting in what looked like the middle of a forest. All around him were millions of trees. He felt a small ache in his chest at the sight of trees, but pushed it down quickly. It was too late to be homesick.

"Hey, you."

Naruto looked around frantically before seeing a heavily armored man approaching him from behind with a sword drawn. He waved awkwardly before walking over to the man.

"Halt. We've caught you crossing the border illegally. I'll have to take you into custody."

_We?_ Naruto looked around, before spotting more men walking around with swords drawn. He gulped, before giving the man a sheepish smile.

"Can't we… you know… work this out?" he asked, bracing himself to make a run for it. The heavily armored man seemed to consider it, before shaking his head and taking a single step forward.

"No." He said. Naruto nodded, before pointing behind the man.

"Your superior seems to differ in opinion." Naruto said, throwing his best acting into the statement. The armored man stiffened and turned, leaving Naruto to take advantage of the distraction.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" he screamed, as he ran as fast as he could through the woods. Even without chakra, he was able to get back into a rhythm of dodging trees. He slipped his arm around a stray limb of a tree and used the momentum to launch himself in a perpendicular direction. He kicked up some dust as he ran, spraying it behind him with considerable dust. After running for a few more minutes, he ducked behind a boulder and peeked over the rock. There was nobody still chasing him. He sighed and turned to sit with the boulder pressed against his back.

His relief was short lived when he realized he'd run straight into the mouth of the beast. In front of him was a platoon of the armored men and 3 wagons full of prisoners. Naruto smacked himself in the forehead for his stupidity.

"That's him!" another one of those soldiers yelled, grabbing him roughly by the shoulders. Naruto was roughly bound by ropes and pushed into the cart.

"Howdy." he greeted the other prisoners. They nodded in his direction, although with some confusion about his greeting. _I guess some of what I say is a bit archaic to them… Or they never heard it before.. hmm… Thoughts for a time when I'm not being arrested?_

XxXxX

Naruto opened his eyes to look around. Another prisoner had been added to their numbers. _Goody. Another minion._

The new guy seemed to collapse as soon as he was loaded onto the wagon, probably from some kind of head injury, Naruto wasn't sure and he didn't exactly care. All he wanted to do was cause some mayhem so he could escape and complete his mission for Nocturnal. She _was_ a Daedra, and perhaps the most attractive of them all. He wasn't one to break promises, especially to women who are almost all-powerful and extremely well built in the chest region.

"You are finally awake." Naruto looked to see one of the other prisoners looking at him with an inquisitive gaze. He seemed to falter before speaking again.

"Pardon me for asking, but… What race are you? I've been studying you for a while now, and you don't look like any Nord I've ever seen. If anything… You remind me of some of the Khajiit from Elswyr." He said, pointing to Naruto's head. Naruto felt his head and sighed. He'd gotten the ears back. On his head were some small fox ears he'd grown after assimilating with Kyuubi back when he was alive again. Now, somehow he'd gotten them back. He checked to make sure he hadn't grown a tail, and sure enough, he had a fluffy red tail, wagging joyfully behind him.

"Fuck." He said, gaining another curious look from everyone on the wagon.

"I'm a…" he rubbed his chin in thought as he searched for something to call himself. "Shinobi."

"A… Shinobi? I've never heard of a race like that." The brown headed man to the other man's right said with a suspicious glare. Naruto shrugged and went back to sleep.

XxXxX

Naruto's head crashed painfully against the wooden wall of the wagon. He looked around as he cradled his aching head. They'd come to a stop inside of a town.

"Let's go, we shouldn't keep the Gods waiting for us." The blonde headed man said in front of him. Everyone stood up and followed, except for Naruto, who was very confused.

"No, wait! We're not rebels!" apparently, he wasn't the only confused one. Naruto glanced around to get a better stock of who was with him. The blond headed man, the dark headed man, and the man who was gagged all were Nords. The man who was unconscious when he was loaded was an Imperial.

"Face your death with courage, Horse Thief." The blonde said. Naruto nodded to himself. Stealing a horse was a crime worthy of death, in most law books.

"You have to tell them, we're not with you!" The horse thief yelled.

"Shut up, will you?" Naruto asked with a growl. The man's blubbering was driving him insane. He hopped off the cart and faced another one of the armored men, who he realized now, were all Imperial Nords. _Imperial… Nords? Really? I know I didn't leave Markarth often, but that is a little bit farfetched._

"Step forward when we call you name." A rather imposing Nord female ordered.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." The man with the gag stepped forward, unperturbed by the circumstances. Naruto respected that, as he himself was a little nervous at the prospect of being arrested. Where were they, anyways?

"Ralof of Riverwood." This time, it was the blonde Nord who stepped foreward. Ralof mumbled something to Ulfric as he passed him to stand over by the chopping block.

Naruto gulped when he realized _just_ where they were.

"Wait… You're going to cut my head off? Do you understand how much that hurts?" he asked incredulously. An Imperial soldier pummeled his head from behind.

"Shutup, Khajiit." He said.

"I'm not a Khajiit…" Naruto's complaint fell on deaf ears.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

"No! I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!" Lokir shouted. Naruto could clearly see the man's leg muscles bunch under his pants. He would have face-palmed if his hands weren't bound. He was going to run.

Just as Naruto predicted, Lokir took off as fast as he could, but it wasn't enough. An archer fired into his back, piercing his heart from the behind.

_Note to self: Archers have deadly accuracy._

"You… Who are you?" Naruto looked at the Imperial, inquisitive himself.

"No. You, Khajiit. Who are you?" The Imperial asked. Naruto bristled as he stepped forward.

"I'm not a Khajiit…" he said lamely. No one had believed him yet. Once again it fell on deaf ears.

"What is your name?" the Imperial asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto answered. Why did everyone have to think he was a Khajiit?

"We'll make sure your remains are returned to Elsweyr." The Imperial answered. Naruto sighed dramatically before he was pushed to stand in line next to Ralof.

"And who are you?" The Imperial Nord had turned to the Imperial.

"Arius Sergio." The now properly labeled Arius answered. Naruto took the opertunity to study him. He wore rags, similar to the clothing Naruto wore. His face was handsome enough for a man – Naruto wasn't sure, as he didn't normally describe a man as handsome. He had brown eyes and a small frown. His hair was cut short in a warriors cut, so no one could grab it and pull on it. He had a single scar under his left eye, jagged life a cut from a knife. He was imposing, to be sure.

"Stand in line, Imperial." The woman said, cutting off whatever the Imperial Soldier was going to say. Arius complied with a nod of his head and stood next to Naruto. He stood at least 3 inches taller than Naruto, although his ears made up for the gap. Naruto shot Arius a grin.

"Crossing the border, eh? That's what they accused me of. A load of horse shit, if you ask me." Naruto whispered to Arius. The Imperial glanced at Naruto with the same confused glance he got from everyone.

"You're not a Khajiit, are you?" he asked. Naruto immediately liked the man even more.

"Nope. I'm… You can call me a Shinobi, I guess. If anything, I _could_ be considered a breed of Khajiit, as they do have some that look human, but they are all Cats. I'm a fox, as much as I hate to admit." Naruto answered. He was going to say more, but he was interrupted by the chopping block and a squirt of blood.

"That… Was really bloody…" he said. Arius nodded. The head rolled around in a basket as the blood fell freely from the neck. The female Soldier glanced over at Naruto.

"Next, the Khajiit!"

"I'M NOT A FUCKING KHAJIIT!"


	2. Chapter 2

So I guess I beat a lot of you to this idea. Or… You just never wrote it down… I have seriously been trying to figure out how no one has put Naruto into the Elderscrolls world like this. I've honestly read one story, and it was pretty much a one shot. But, I digress.

Please review this chapter by saying "Dawnguard" or "Vampire Lord". This is an easy way of voting for all of us! 1 or 2 words, you get your choice (If you are the majority), and I don't have to choose. Win-Win, in my opinion.

I do not own the Elderscrolls or Naruto. Those rights go to Bethesda and Masashi Kishimoto, respectively.

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Chapter 2

Fear was an emotion Naruto had little experience with. Living life with semi-deity in ones stomach gives a man a different perspective than a man without. Gaara had once likened it to the "Daddy Game" that some kids play. Kids say things like, "My dad can use fire techniques." or, "My dad has a big sword." or the ever famous, "My dad can beat up your dad". The differencd though, was he had a nine-tailed fox in his stomach, keeping him alive in a selfish attempt at continued immortality. Which... Wasn't all that selfish, as it kept him very much alive. Now? He didn't know if he'd live without a head. Healing that would be a little hard.

"I said, Next Prisoner." the self-entitled woman shouted from the sidelines. Naruto made the desicion right there, that he didn't like her all that much. An Imperial Legionary pushed his shoulder from behind.

"Move, prisoner."

"Yeah, yeah... Stupid daedra for forcing me into this... Stupid Nocturnal for being so sexy... Stupid Legion for killing people for waking up in a forest..." he mumbled under his breath, much to the confusion of the armored Nord behind him.

Naruto was forced to his knees and put his head on the gore encrusted chopping block. He could feel the countless notches in the hard wood. Each notch, another head severed from a body. Another head, rolling on the ground to look up at his own head for another 10 seconds before finally expiring. Not a fun way to fail a mission from Nocturnal...

His thoughs were interupted as a loud thud echoed across the clearing. The headsman lost his balance and his axe stabbed into the wood, barely missing Naruto's head.

"Holy shit! Watch it, ma-" he started, before lookng up.

"Oh... Alduin... What are you doing here?" he asked, fearfully edging away from the chopping block. The dragon, thankfully, did not recognize the spirit that had mocked him as he was sent through time by an elder scroll.

"FUS!" the dragon shouted, making Naruto cover his eyes with his bound arms, as he rolled 3 times. He shakily stood up and looked around.

"What are you doing? Move!" Was it Ralof? Naruto didn't care, he ran to the Nordic voice.

"Follow me, prisoner!" Not Ralof. It was the Imperial Legionary from before. Naruto shrugged and followed the legionary, preferring to have an Imperial meat shield inbetween him and a dragon than nothing at all.

Naruto jumped through the door just in time to avoid a blast of fire. He crouched low in the room and looked over to tbe Legionary.

"Hey. What is your name?" he asked. hesitated, before answering the out of place question.

"It's Hadvar. You need to go. There's a door over there," he pointed to a wooden door at the back of the house. "If we don't meet up, then head to the barracks. It's the big stone building... Go!" Hadvar ordered. Naruto nodded, thankful for the direction. He stood up and dashed off to the other side of the house with a heavy push against the wall. He ducked under a hanging potted plant before kicking open the back door, pleased that the dadra hadn't made his body weak.

Outside the safety of the house, Naruto felt the heat from the sudden meteor storm called down by Alduin. He could faintly hear Hadvar yelling someone's name and Alduin shouting on the other side of the house. He went around the house and climbed a wall with 3 consecutive leaps, before dropping back down on the other side.

A woman with a bow and a quiver of arrows was firing vainly into the sky as a few soldiers ran around in a panic, unable to do anything, but watch as Alduin shrouds the village in flames. Naruto ran through them, knowing he could do nothing with the tight cords wrapped around his wrists.

He sidestepped a falling rock, before ducking under the cover of a stone wall. He ran along the wall, before coming to a stop in a wide clearing. Both Hadvar and Ralof stood in the middle.

"Traitor!" Hadvar yelled, drawing his sword. Ralof held up two iron axes. Standing between the two arguing Nords was the Imperial prisoner. Naruto trotted over to him.

"So… How'd he get out of his bindings?" he asked, pointing to Ralof's free hands. Arius seemed to cock his head to the side for a second, before shrugging.

"I'm not sure." He admitted. Naruto shrugged and stood there waiting for the two men to come to some agreement.

Before the two grown men could settle whatever dispute they had, a dragon's shout ripped the air as Alduin landed making both men run in panic, each grabbing their own bound prisoner. Naruto ended up with Ralof, while Arius ran with Hadvar. The blonde shinobi was glad to be away from the Imperial, as he wasn't very happy about being almost beheaded by them. He turned to look at Ralof.

"Here, let me get you out of those bindings." the blond nord said, pulling a knife out of his armor. He slit the ropes between Naruto's wrists.

"Wait… How did you sneak a knife in here?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side inquisitively. The large blond Nord laughed sheepishly before changing the subject.

"Alright. We need to find you some armor." Ralof's tone turned somber as he looked at the dead man on the ground. "His sacrifice wasn't in vain. Go ahead and grab his armor and weapons." Ralof said, pointing to the body on the ground.

Naruto gave him an '_Are you crazy?'_ look. "There's no way I'm going to wear some dead guy's armor." He said, crossing his arms. Ralof pointed again at the armor, making a point. Naruto sighed and pulled it off of the body. He put it on with a little difficulty, but he'd seen it done before, being a ghost and all. He put the axe at his waist.

"Do you know any magic?" Ralof asked. Naruto shook his head.

"It's not often that I come across someone who doesn't know at least a healing spell. Be careful to not get hurt, then." Ralof said. The Nord walked over to the gate and inspected it carefully.

"There must be some way to open this." He said.

Naruto and walked over to the gate himself. It was a metal gate, and judging by the keyhole, it was probably locked.

"Where do we get a key?" Naruto asked. Ralof just smiled.

"We wait for it." He said. Naruto gave him an odd look.

"Wait? We can'tjust wai-" he stopped midsentence, which was something he seemed to be doing a lot today, as he heard footsteps at the other doorway. He held up a hand in the universal sign for quiet, which thankfully, Ralof understood.

They both crouched low and snuck over to the door where the two Imperial Soldiers were coming from. Naruto stayed on the right side, and Ralof rushed over to the right side.

"Hurry up. We need to get out of here through the tunnels!"

Naruto recognized that voice and smiled, showing off his impressive canines.

The gate opened with a loud whir of turning gears and creaking metal. Both prey and predator locked eyes. Naruto lunged with the borrowed axe, aiming for the woman's neck which he assessed as the area with the least amount of protection in her heavy armor. Even with the surprise attack, she blocked it with her sword and swatted it away. She grinned at him as the axe clattered onto the stone floor. She used the opportunity to try and take his head.

"Shit, woman. Watch the face!" he yelled, rolling backwards to avoid the sword. She followed up with a wild stab as Naruto rolled to his feet. He used his lower stance to get into her guard and grab her wrists. In a flash of brilliance, he pulled her toward him, wriggling the sword from her grip. With a grin, he slit her neck.

Ralof stood awkwardly by the door, having taken care of the other imperial. Naruto coughed into his hand and smiled sheepishly.

"She pissed me off, is all." He explained. He clipped the axe back on his belt and took the sword off the woman. She also had a key, which he hoped unlocked the iron door.

"Alright, let's go." Naruto said. Ralof nodded and fell in line, finding it a little odd that the strange young man who had been unsure before had switched into a capable leader. It was an odd switch, to say the least.

XxXxX

Naruto ran ahead, up a flight of stairs, leaving Ralof behind. The man could take care of himself, and he'd rather not have to pick a side on this civil war.

The blonde shinobi ducked pulled a tight corner and looked down the corridor. Before he could take stock of his surroundings, the ceiling began to shake. Naruto ducked into the room next him closing the door, waiting for the sjaking to end. If the roof was going to collapse, it wouldn't be on him.

"Stormcloak! Attack!"

Naruto turned and drew his axe before throwing it at the charging Imperial out of reflex. The blade impacted the man's skull, letting blood flow freely. Naruto jumped in child-like joy.

"FUCK YEAH! I still got it!" he shouted, before ducking under a blow from a mace. Naruto spun on his heel, facing the crazed Imperial's comrade.

"Wassup?" Naruto asked, taking pleasure out of the man's confusion. The Imperial shook his head and charged at Naruto. Naruto weaved out of the way of a downward strike, before drawing his sword and slashing the man's stomach. The Imperial collapsed in a pool of blood as Ralof opened the door. Naruto grabbed the axe out of the man's forhead and glanced at Ralof.

"You need to keep up!" he yelled, grinning as he dashed around the corner. He ran towards the sound of more fighting, which was only down the hall. The blonde sprinted into the room to see a man throwing around lightning spells like nobody's business. With a grin, he unclipped the axe and tossed it at the mage. The blade hit him in the side of the head, killing him instantly.

Another man with balding hair stood the side with a large two handed sword. Naruto had seen larger. He held his swor, ready to charge the man, but the Imperial was taken out by Ralof's axe. Ralof looked over his comrades as Naruto inspected the prison-like room. More like Torture room…

"Are you all right?" Ralof asked. The woman nodded, although she was limping heavily. She had a burn on her right leg and a bruise on the side of her head.

"We're fine." She said, drawing the sword she'd taken from another Imperial. The man was fine, on the other hand.

"We used the dragon's attack to try and escape. We… uh… Almost didn't make it." He said. Ralof waved it away.

"Can you fight?" he asked. They both nodded.

"Then follow us." Ralof ordered. Both nodded and readied their weapons. Ralof turned towards Naruto, as NAruto fiddled with a lock on a cage.

"There's some lockpicks in this- How did you do that?" The door swung open, much to Ralof's surprise. Naruto picked the gold off of the ground with ferver.

"Septims!" Naruto said, showing off the coins. There was at least 10 on the ground, and a bag of 30. Ralof pushed him out of the way and picked up a book that Naruto had tossed to the side.

"Here, read this." Ralof said. Naruto looked at him oddly.

"It'll teach you how to use a Destruction spell." Ralof explained. Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and took it. He'd always ignored trying to read these books after he found out that spirits couldn't seem to read spell books. Some odd rule about how it only reacted to living beings. He opened it up and looked inside.

He flinched when he felt a rush of information, much like when he had Shadow Clones. Naruto's grin got bigger, as he held up a hand and showed off the lightening dancing around it.

"Kakashi would be jealous." He said, much to the confusion of the people watching him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Woo! Chapter 3~! So far, it seems we have 2 for Dawnguard and 1 Vampire Lord. I honestly would rather go with Vampire Lord, but I want to see where you, the readers want to see this story end up. A writer writes to entertain himself, and an author writes to entertain his/her readers. "What am I?" you ask. Well... I'm just a humble writer who lives in Texas and attends a small college. But, I still write to entertain you.**

**Please vote for either one. [biased] Please vote Vampire Lord! TT_TT [/biased]**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"He was an old friend of mine." Naruto explained as he studied the sparks dancing around his hand. The lightning was being generated by his hand. And it wasn't chakra-made lighting, but the real thing. He flexed his hand, pointing his extended fingers toward the wall. The lighting shot forward, catapulting the wall with bolts of electricity.

"Alright, that is badass." he mumbled, before dropping the spell. The blonde turned around and searched the Torturer, waving his extended tail as he did. He was pretty sure he'd seen sonething he wanted...

"Hell yeah!" he shouted, pulling out a steel dagger. Naruto threw away the iron sword and hung the dagger off of his leather belt.

"Are you... Did you find what you need?" Ralof asked. Naruto nodded and fell in behind Ralof. The Blonde Nord gave him an odd look, probably expecting him to have sped off. Naruto grinned at the Nord.

"What? Are we going or not?" he asked. The Nord rolled his eyes and started down the hall. The two Stormcloak rebels, who were nameless in Naruto's eyes, fell in behind him.

Ralof started down the hall, and like a train, all of them fell in behind him. Naruto, because he was too excited abouf a better weapon and the lighting that he could now shoot, and the rebels because that was what they were. Soldiers. And soldiers follow orders and leaders.

Ralof held up a hand, stopping them in their tracks. Ralof crouched and held up a finger to shush them.

"How long is this going to take?" an impatient voice asked.

"Quiet, Auxiliary. I can't think with your constant complaining." an older, more commanding voice answered.

"We'll ambush on three." Ralof whispered to the group, partially covering his mouth to avoid being heard. He held up 3 fingers, before dropping one. He dropped another finger. And finally the last one fell.

Naruto zipped off without letting out a sound. He took a quick inventory of the room as he silently sprinted to his first target. Naruto grabbed one of the Imperials by the chainmail across his chest as he flipped his new dagger into his free hand and stabbed it into the man's throat, severing his jugular and larynx in the same swift strike.

The legionary crumpled to the stone floor, gurgling as blood gurgled from his throat. The light left the man's open and surprised eyes, leaving them dull and lifeless. But Naruto didn't have time to think about it, as something whizzed close to his ear. He crashed to the his right, avoiding another arrow.

Naruto splashed into a pool of stale, rank water. Now that he thought about it, the tunnel they'd been in had slowly morphed until it had turned into a cave. The tunnel, that had previously been decorated with carved floors and furs was now just stone, etched with toolmarks, and covered in moss. He wrinkled his sensitive nose as sone water dribbled down his face.

Naruto watched as Ralof took out what looked like his second opponent. The Nord galloped across a rope bridge and slashed with his axes. It was a quick one - two attack that glanced off the Legionary's shield.

"Stormcloaks!" he yelled, drawing his sword.

Naruto quickly zoned back in on his own fight as another arrow whizzed by his head and plunked into the shallow water. Naruto ducked to the side, wishing in vain that he hadn't lossed the ability to use chakra when he died.

Naruto rolled up onto the stone floor and immediately rolled to his feet. That archer had to go.

Naruto pulled out his new dagger and held it in reverse as he lit up a lightning spell in his left hand. Naruto charged at the remaining archer and slashed once with his steel dagger.

The legionary didn't seem like he expected someone to charge him like a lunatic, as he dumbly dodged the first blow. Naruto used the Archer's surprise to his advantage as he blasted the archer with a bolt of lighting.

The archer convulsed violently as the electricity coursed its way through his nerves. Naruto turned away from the fresh corpse and towards the sound of lessening battle. Ralof, finished what looked like his final opponent and only one Stormcloak soldier stood left.

He limped over to Naruto with a small victorious grin. The soldier held his side as he leaned heavily against the wall.

"I got'em. They killed her, but I got'em." he said as he slid to the ground. Ralof jogged over to them both. The stormcloak gave Ralof a grim look.

"You go on. I'll catch up to you eventually." he said, painfully grasping his side as blood pooled over his fingertips. It was obvious that he wouldn't make it.

XxXxX

The lever gave a rusty, grinding sound as it was pulled. A wooden bridge crashed into a horizontal position over a small drop. Ralof nodded.

"Right, let's go." he said as he strolled across, patting his hands together to dust them off. A rumble shook the tunnel, followed by the roar of a dragon. Naruto's eyes widened as he sprinted across the bridge and dove forward as the bridge fell to the ground.

"Damnit, Alduin!" Naruto cursed the dragon that was currently getting his jollies off by ripping men and women to shreads. Ralof, who by now was getting used to Naruto's insane outbursts, shook his head as he helped the young blonde to his feet.

"Anyone else behind us will have to go a different route..." Ralof muttered. Naruto nodded in agreement as he brushed the remains of some random cave-growing plant off of his borrowed armor.

"So... Can we go now?" Naruto asked, impatiently kicking the dust. Ralof nodded and continued forward.

"Wait, I think I hear som-" Ralof's warning stopped dead in his throat as a spider's ricketing screech pierced the air.

Naruto shocked a giant, chair sized pider and stepped over the rapidly convulsing corpse to slay another with his dagger. He stabbed another similarly sized one in the face.

"It's not hard Ralof." Naruto yelled, finishing off the last spider. Ralof shook his head.

"No... There's always... a bigger spider in a nest..." Ralof said, slowly drawing his axes. Naruto felt the hair on the back of his neck rise just before he rolled to the side. Venomous fangs crashed together just where his neck would have met his shoulders. Naruto silently thanked the dulled but still effective danger sense he'd developed over the years. The former shinobi rolled under the spider, dragging his dagger under the belly of the beast.

It seemed that his attack only served to annoy the oversized creature, as it kicked him to the side with a giant spear-tipped leg.

"I find myself really hating spiders." Naruto muttered as he stood up and watched the Nord hack at a leg. The spider screeched in pain as one of its legs was severed. Naruto looked down at his small dagger.

"I think I need a bigger knife..." he mumbled as he sheathed it. "But maybe magic will cut it." he fired up two lighting spells and charged the, now lopsided, spider. He blasted it in the torso, hoping to send a wave of paralyzing current through its body.

"Eeeeeeeerch!" it screamed as its legs gave out. Ralof took advantage of its temporary paralysis and dropped an ace through its tiny head.

"Spiders... Nasty creatures..." Ralof muttered. Naruto nodded as he looked around to check and make sure he didn't drop a precious tool.

"Alright, let's go." Naruto said. He continued mumbling as they walked into a bigger cavern. "Stupid-ass Dragon. Stupid-ass Spiders. Stupid-ass Imperials. Stupid-ass Stormcloaks..." Naruto ignored the indignant shout of "Hey!" as he went down his checklist.

"Shh... Quiet... There's a bear ahead..." Ralof whispered. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Really... A bear? A bear can't be harder to fight then a giant... Spider..." Naruto's witty reply fell dead on his lips as he took in the the size of the bear. It was big and well fed... And the size wasn't from fat... It was all muscle.

"Nevermind." he amended. Ralof pulled a bow off of his shoulder that Naruto hadn't seen him pick up.

"Here take this." Ralof tossed it and a quiver of arrows to him; Again, Naruto never saw him pick them up.

The blonde shinobi tested the string if the bow, pulling it back and enjoying the feel as the string snapped back. Naruto had rarely used a bow in his life. As a ninja, no one used a bow, preferring to use their throwing weapons instead. It was hard to hide a the long wooden weapon if you were trying to blend in with a crowd. But, it seemed this world was different. Naruto silently notched an arrow and pulled back the string. His left hand holding the weapon and his right holding the string and arrow.

Naruto let go of the arrow and notched another. It wasn't a just-in-case situation, as he was well aware of his lacking in this area of expertise. The arrow hissed through the air and pierced the shoulder of the bear.

"Bad form, but you hit it." Ralof began, but his tone quickly changed. "Nine-Divines It's coming! Hit it again!" Ralof shouted from the sidelines. Naruto let the next one fly as he notched another arrow. This arrow missed by a mile as it clattered on the stone floor. Naruto hissed a silent curse as he focused as hard as he could, holding his breath, as he lined up the shot.

The bear was barreling down on them. Ralof shouted from a short distance away, but it was drowned out by the wild heartbeat in his ears.

"Move, lad!"

He could feel the enraged and musky breath of the bear blast his face, just as he let go of the string.

Naruto was tackled to the ground as he dropped the bow. He frantically searched for his dagger. Found it. He pushed the dagger forward into the bear. Pushing. Shoving.

"It's all right lad! You did it!" Ralof's hearty and relieved laugh echoed around the cave.

Naruto stopped wriggling beneath the giant and heavy beast as he realized his predicament. The bears head was bleeding right between the eyes, where a single arrow was firmly protruding.

"I... I think I am going to practice more." Naruto said, pushing the corpse off of him. He studied his kill as Ralof pat him on the back. Naruto lurched a bit under the firm smack on the back but steadied himself. He grinned as his heart went back down to his chest and the hair on his tail flattened.

"I'm keeping this arrow. I don't believe in luck... but who knows." He said tugging the arrow from its firm place. He placed it back in its quiver, forgetting to wipe iff the blood in his daze.

"Aye lad, but we have to run." Raloc said. Another roar, quieter, but still quite loud echoed like the voice of a ghost in the cave. "Let me help you skin it."

"Hmm? Skin it? Why?" Naruto asked. He'd never had to skin an animal, not as a ghost - for obvious reasons - and never as a shinobi who wasn't bound by the same honor as other warriors. And he'd never in his life been a hunter. So he watched as Ralof quickly seperated the bear's pelt from its body.

When he was done, he folded the pelt and tossed it over to Naruto who caught it with a queasy expression.

Ralof bent over and washed his hand in the stream before standing straight.

"Don't give me that look, lad. You shouldn't just leave a beast like that. It's too bad we have no time to get some meat... Haven't had bear meat in ages." Ralof muttered. Naruto followed the older man out of the opening of the cave as he slung the bow over his shoulder and getting a better grip of the pelt.


	4. Chapter 4

**Updated! Fuck yes! Three months later! I think my swearing has increased a bit...**

**Current poll results:**

**Dawnguard: 5**

**Vampire Lord: 2**

**I'm biased towards Vampire Lord... COME ON! T_T**

**I'd really like to thank my readers for keeping me up... And then the people who don't review and PM me to write more... You know who you are... Thanks for pissing me off and making me get off my lazy, tired, college student ass to actually do something. As you read this story, please point out the mistakes you find so I can properly fix them. Or, you know _Beta my story..._ _**

**Question of the day (a new thing I'm doing...): Do you plan on playing ElderScrolls Online, and if so, what race do you plan on playing?**

**Personally? I'm going Breton. I fucking love Bretons. Illusion/Conjuration all the way!**

**Author's Note 2: I thought I was pretty straight forward with this, but apparently not. The title of the story is, in fact, true. Naruto is not a khajiit... He's Naruto, with a tail and ears. The joke is that people see these two oddities and just think_, 'He has a tail and weird ears. He must be a Khajiit.'_**

**I wasn't sure if this was obvious enough, so there it is in black and white. **

* * *

****

**Chapter 4**

Naruto Hoisted the thick bear pelt over his shoulder as he half stumbled/half walked out of the cave. It wasn't that he wasn't used to the weight... No, that was fine. But dealing with such an awkwardly shaped package was difficult to carry. His tail curled and bristled in annoyance as he let out a quiet sigh. It was no use being finicky about it, as most people in this land were quite used to it.

"Hold up!" Ralof said, ducking behind a boulder at the mouth of the cave. Naruto didn't have to be told twice. His dagger was instantly in his hand as he looked around. He blinked. Once. Twice.

"Ralof... Why did we sto-"

"GRAAAAAAAAAH! Zu'u Alduin. Zok sahrot do naan ko Lein!" A loud draconic screech pierced the air as a large mass streaked across the sky. Stupid dragons interrupting him.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, ALDUIN! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR SHIT RIGHT NOW!" Naruto yelled in annoyance. He hated being interrupted. He turned back to Ralof.

"What were you saying?" he asked in a pleasant manner. Ralof simply stared.

"You are the oddest Khajiit I've ever met."

"I'm not a Khajiit..." Naruto's reply was ignored. He rolled his eyes, something he seemed to have been doing a lot lately. Stupid Dragons. Stupid Daedra. Stupid people. He was struck from his thoughts as Ralof stood up.

"Right. We should head to Riverwood. Gerdur needs to be told of this." he said. Naruto blinked at the expecting tone of the Nord. He stared in silence.

"No." he finally said.

"But-"

"Not my problem." Naruto's tail swished in annoyance. He really didn't like being pulled into people's troubles. Yes, maybe once upon a time, but that was a couple millennia ago. People change over time. It's either that, or go batshit insane... Which might have happened as well... But obviously not that much... Right?

"Who else is going to inform the town...?"

"What about the Imperial and the... Empire Imperial dude..." Naruto stumbled over the words... Really? Why did they need to have the same name? Ralof blinked in confusion.

"What is this... 'Dude'?"

Naruto coughed into his clawed hand. He forgot about the language shift.

"Erm... It means a person... Informal usage. Skewed to being a male individual, although usage for females isn't unheard of."

Ralof gave a hesitant nod.

"Is that an Elsweyr custom?"

"I'm not a Khajiit!"

* * *

Naruto whistled a tune as he casually strolled under the Riverwood Gate. Why they had a gate, he didn't really understand. It's not like they had a wall that went around the whole town... He shook his head in amusement. The town was a quaint town, despite the odd gate. It a had a decent sized tavern, a general store, and a sawmill.

Naruto stopped mid-step. For some odd reason, he had this strange feeling that he'd forgotten something. With a sudden epiphany, Naruto palmed his face.

_What do I do with this bear pelt? I shouldn't have ran off without Ralof..._ He shrugged his shoulders. No use crying over spilled milk... Or mead. _Stupid Nord culture getting the best of me..._

"You a Hunter?" a gruff voice asked. Naruto turned towards it with a tilted head.

"No, why?" he asked. The man who owned the voice was a tall nord. He wore a blacksmith's apron that left Naruto with glistening red eyes. That was who he was looking for. Someone who had the skills to make something with the bear's pelt. The Nord laughed loudly, shaking him from his thoughts.

"Usually hunters are the ones who walk around with their trophies. Although... Not with that look of confusion." The nord said with a hand rubbing his bearded chin in thought. Naruto quickly found himself standing in front of the man.

"You're a blacksmith, right? Making weapons and such? Can you work leather? Into armor?" Naruto's eyes progressively got bigger and bigger with each question.

"Yes. Yes. Yes. And Yes. But the question is... How much are you willing to pay?" The man asked, his mouth hitched into a slight grin. Naruto blinked before checking the the pocket sewn into his borrowed clothing, cutesy of a certain Daedra... Seriously, he had no idea where the clothes came from. Thankfully though, he'd snatched a few Septims from the corpses... Not really something he was proud of... Looting bodies was disrespectful... But money was money.

"I have 200 septims." he said. The man went back to scratching his beard in thought.

"How about this, lad," he began, "I can show you how to make what you want, as long as you bring the supplies and a bit of gold. It'll be like a basic overview of smithing."

Naruto's scarlet eyes widened even more, if that was possible. This was an extremely good deal if he'd ever heard one. Naruto held out his hand and grinned.

"The name is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

"Nice to meet you... Naruto? I'm called Alvor."

Naruto was going to regret missing that mischievous glint in the man's eyes. Oh, was he going to regret it.

* * *

"Lad. You're hammering wrong. Lower. Guide the blade, don't force it." Alvor stood behind Naruto as he hammered at a glowing orange sword. Sweat poured of of him in waves.

"What does that even mean?" he shouted. Alvor rolled his eyes.

"Just do it, Khajiit." Alvor said, losing his own patience.

"I'm not a Khajiit!"

"You're letting the steel cool!"

"FUCK!" Naruto swore, grabbing the cool part of the blade and hammering out the rest of the shape. After about 5 minutes of silence, he dumped the blade in the trough of water. Alvor walked over and pulled it out, inspecting it with a practiced eye. His eyes moved from the blade, to Naruto.

"Not bad for a beginner. Try again." The man gave a hellish grin. Naruto's ears flattened as his tail wound it's way around his leg. Why did he always get into these situations?

* * *

"This is pretty good, Naruto. Not to _my _standards, of course, but I think you might have a future in smithing." Alvor said, his hand once again thoughtfully stoking his beard.

"Maybe. I don't think I could, though... I don't like being tied down." Blatant lie. But saying, '_If I stay in one place the Daedra will hunt me down and roast me alive, eat me, resurrect me, force feed me cheese, and probably study my inner working in no particular order.' _probably wouldn't have gone as well.

Alvor nodded. "I used to be an adventurer like you..." Naruto's eyes widened. Don't. Fucking. Say. It.

"But then I met my wife, Sigrid." the man actually shuddered, before wistfully running his hand through his beard, no doubt remembering his adventurer days.

_Stroking his beard again. It's a tic that denotes heavy thinking, probably planning. Wait... No. Bad thoughts. You aren't allowed to be complicated. _He sighed._ At least he didn't say **it.**_

Naruto shook his head, forcing the thoughts away. He was slowly regaining his late Shinobi mindset. Probably from all of the recent stress... He shot a look at Alvor. Another cause of stress. He'd spent the previous 4 hours learning how to smith. Not leather. He learned how to smith a damn dagger. That hadn't been what he'd agreed to... He glanced back at the man.

_No doubt, I can take him out quickly... But... He scares the living shit out of me._

Naruto's ears flattened again as he stood up and tried to creep away. A hand grabbed his shoulder. Nope. Not getting away. Fuck.

"Where are you going? We're not done yet. We still have more to go over." the man said, grinning from ear to ear. Naruto swore that the blonde Nord had it out for him.

* * *

"Excellent! You can make enough weapons for me to pass you in that regard. Now onto armor." Alvor said. It had been 2 days. Two fucking days in hell, if hell was making weapons that nobody wanted, at least. Naruto, though, was at least satisfied with finally getting what he wanted out of the man. Weapons were great... And he at least had a shit ton of iron daggers to throw at people... But still... He shivered as he felt the clothes he was wearing... They were _Borrowed_. For all he knew, it could have come from some random dead guy... Seriously. Maybe he was over-thinking it... He just liked knowing where things came from.

"Yes! Finally! Why the hell did we spend two days going over weapons?"

"You have to start somewhere. Even light armor has metal pieces to it, and those are even more complex than a simple dagger. I started you at the lowest level, and you worked your way up. So congratulations. You officially possess half the knowledge that most of the residents of Skyrim possess."

Naruto blanched. No wonder he'd been getting a bunch of laughing _visitors_ to see him.

"So... How do you make armor?" Naruto asked. Alvor grinned.

"It's simple."

He saw the mischievous glint this time. He saw it in the man's eyes. Naruto saw his own future pain in the man's eyes. He gulped.

* * *

The blonde shinobi held an ice pack against his head, as he glared daggers at the sheepishly laughing man.

"That was not simple. That was the dumbest thing I've ever done. Why did you persuade me to do that?" Naruto asked, nursing the pitchfork shaped burn on his forehead. Yes. Pitchfork.

"I'm sorry! I never thought you'd fall for-"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT IT!" Naruto shouted, effectively cutting him off. Alvor chuckled again, as he lifted the newly crafted Leather armor. He wouldn't admit it, but it was good quality for someone who'd only been smithing for 4 days. Although there were some oddities in the design, Alvor chalked it up as preference. It wasn't as good as something he would have made, of course, but he certainly had a few pieces of armor like it in his stock. So it was passable in his opinion. Alvor cleared his throat loudly, catching Naruto's attention.

"Well then, Lad... I say you should head up to Whiterun. Not much for an Adventurer to do here, but I'm sure you can find something to do. Maybe... Try your hand at bounty hunting?"

Naruto blinked at the man. Was he already done? Naruto shrugged. _Bounty hunting, huh? I guess I can give that a go. Money is money... Even if it's looted from a corpse. _He shuddered again.

"Yeah... I'll do that. Erm... Thanks." Naruto said as he picked up his new leather armor. As he strapped the pieces on, he felt a little bit awkward. This really _was_ armor... He wasn't used to wearing armor, just resilient clothes. Receiving a slight nod from from the older man that he had actually put it on correctly, Naruto gave a slight bow.

"I'll see you around, Alvor. Thanks again." He gave a halfhearted wave as he headed back towards the Tavern. Alvor gave a hellish grin before getting back to his work.

* * *

Naruto rolled over in the uncomfortable straw bed as he heard a rooster crow. _Funny... I haven't seen any roosters in years... Yet I always hear them._ Naruto rubbed his weary eyes and stood up, facing the nightstand where his freshly made armor sat. He studied it closely.

The helmet was something he was forced to make, but he still didn't want to wear it. He'd reached a compromise by fashioning something similar to his old ninja headband. The metal plate was blank, maybe for future use, or maybe not... He wasn't sure.

Next were the Bracers. They were simple bracers, perfect for catching a dull blade or a blunt weapon. Underneath, he wore fingerless gloves. The gloves were simple wool gloves from some kind of animal... A blackish color, almost dusty grey.

The boots were heavily modified, much like the headpiece. Since he preferred mobility over defense, he'd cut away some of the armor on the ankles, leaving long strips of leather that held it to the leather wrapped, metal shinguards. The sole of the boots were a harder leather that would probably wear down with time.

The chestpiece though, was Naruto's pride and joy. The shoulders bore a light pauldron with the Uzumaki spiral engraved on it's iron surface. The front had multiple layers of leather that overlapped, giving it an almost scaly look, although not quite. Naruto turned over the chestpiece, studying the buckles that wound their way up the spine. They were in an awkward place, and he sort of regretted placing them there, but he admitted they added a bit of flair to it. The leggings were a similar style, as Naruto made a few too many buckles while practicing.

After putting it on, he admired himself in a small mirror on the dresser. He looked pretty intimidating, which he had been aiming for. He was proud of his work, that was for sure.

Naruto yawned and looked out the window. It was barely dawn. He cursed the existence of roosters as he left the room, strapping his bow to his back and placing all of his daggers into his weapon pouch on his hip. His steel dagger was left in a sheath on his chest, while the axe was on his other hip.

He sat down at the bar, eyeing the Bartender with an inquisitive look.

"So... You have any bounties that need to be taken care of?" he asked, popping the joints in his neck with a relieved sigh.

The Bartender nodded quietly, pulling out a slightly wrinkled sheet of paper.

"Yer in luck, lad." The old bartender said. Naruto cringed when the Bartender said _lad_. He was much older than everyone currently alive... "The Jarl's men dropped this off last night." He slid the paper over to him with a lazy movement of his hand.

Naruto studied it. Thankfully, it was complete with a crude map.

"Kill the Bandit leader at Silent Moon's Camp... Sounds simple enough. Where do I go to get my septims when I'm done?" he asked. The bartender didn't give any inclination of hearing him, as he continued to clean an old mug.

"Go speak to Proventus Avenicci when you finish... He'll reward you." the old man said. Naruto nodded his head and got up off the stool. "Good luck, Khajiit."

"I'm not a Khajiit..." Naruto uselessly muttered as he left the Tavern.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he walked along the river. The crude map drawn on the bounty used Whiterun as a point of reference, which annoyed him to no end. He didn't know where Whiterun was-

"Oh. There it is." he muttered. At least 5 kilometers north. So... He looked down at the crude map in his hands.

_I need to head northeast... Simple enough, I guess. _

The blonde sighed. He wished he had Hiraishin or even chakra. In this so called, "New Body" he was weaker than he could imagine. He felt weak without his normal abilities. Chakra made life easier. He at least had a Lighting spell to use on people... Where could he get more of those books, anyways? It didn't seem like he could just walk up to someone and buy one... Like buying one in a general store of all things. He laughed aloud. Like that would happen.

Probably an hour into his trek, Naruto finally came to a halt. He looked down at his map. Then back up. It looked about right. In front of him stood a series of ruins with many tents laying about. About nine bandits walked around the camp, all of them looking like they were doing something of importance... Probably going through their loot. Naruto glanced up at the sun. It was almost midday, so he'd probably be spotted right away... Oh well. He ran straight into the middle of the camp.

"Alright, Bandits! Where is your leader?" he shouted. The bandits all jumped to their feet, scrambling for weapons. Some of them jeered at him.

"Leader? What do you want with him, cat?" someone shouted. Naruto turned around, his tail swishing angrily.

"Ok, who said that?" Naruto asked. The group surrounding him stayed silent. Naruto dramatically shrugged his shoulders in fake annoyance. He was probably going to kill them all anyways. Too bad.

Naruto's right hand flicked out towards a bandit, lodging a knife in his throat. The man reflexively put his hand to his throat as his eyes widened. He tried to say something, but all that came out of his mouth was blood. Lots and lots of blood. He couldn't breathe. Panicked and desperate, the bandit did what he assumed was appropriate of someone who couldn't breathe. He removed the offending object. Like a river, the blood freely flowed from the man's throat, splattering loudly on the rocky terrain. The bandit collapsed with the same stricken look in his eyes.

Eight.

The formerly animate bandit's comrades exchanged looks of fear, before steeling their nerves. As one, they charged with the intent to remove his head from his shoulders. Naruto ducked under an axe, before stepping into the owner's guard. Stupid people tended to overextended themselves way too much. He jerked her arm forward, and pulled her close, shoving his steel dagger into her sternum. He turned around quickly and used the woman's body as a shield as a Two-Handed swordsman slashed at him.

Seven.

Naruto's ears twitched in alarmas he let go of the corpse and used it as a spring board to push off. Three arrows impacted in front of him as he rolled backwards. Coming out of his roll into a crouched position, Naruto analyzed his current situation._ Three archers. 1 mage. The rest are close range. _

Naruto's hands were suddenly alight with electricity at his mental command. He pushed a combined spell towards his closest threat. The man could do nothing as his body was assailed by electricity. The bandit collapsed with the giant Two-Handed weapon still clutched in his hands. He gave a final twitch as his life extinguished.

Six.

A bandit wielding a mace and a shield rushed at him with an enraged battle cry. The mace possessed an odd aura, not unlike a spell. _So it's enchanted, eh? I can't be hit by that. Long range it is. I wonder how you do that, anyways..._

Naruto pulled his bow over his shoulder and started backpedaling. He was aware that he, for lack of better words, sucked with the bow. But... He didn't feel like wasting daggers. He notched an iron arrow and let it fly. Luckily, his hasty shot was able to nick the bandit's shoulder, although that was far from enough to stop him. Naruto ducked under a swipe of the glowing blue mace with a side roll and notched another arrow from below the man. He drew the string back as far as he could, before letting it fly with a crazed grin. But before he release it, he was rocketed backwards by another force. He was enveloped in a torrent of flames that stung his skin. From the combined heat and pressure, Naruto's bow snapped in his hands. Naruto out of the heat and tossed away the remains. The blonde shot a glare at the nearby mage, before looking at the destroyed bow. Stupid idea, anyways.

The heavily armored bandit rushed through the flames, unbothered by the scorching heat. Naruto cursed. Why didn't he go for the mage first? Naruto ducked under another swipe of the mace, before being hit by an unexpected shield bash. Naruto roared in annoyance as he used the hooked end of his axe to jerk his opponent's shield away, before blasting his face with electricity. That bandit's head whipped backwards as electricity coursed through his brain.

Five.

Naruto hissed in pain as he felt an axe slash across his back. Although the offending weapon seemed to be too dull to penetrate his light armoring, it still hurt. Naruto spun into a roundhouse kick to the bandit's masked face before following it up with a quick slash of his own axe. His axe clashed against his opponent's, and both weapons flew away. Naruto's right twitched in annoyance. This was supposed to be much easier than how it was going. Stupid fucking Daedra. Stupid fucking dragons. Stupid fucking bandits. Naruto quickly grabbed the front of the bandit's armor, pulled his dagger from it's sheath and dragged it across the man's neck. Before he could flick the blood away, the sound of a charging spell caught his attention.

Four.

He jumped backwards just as a weak fireball scorched the earth where he'd previously stood. Naruto turned his red eyes towards the mage with a wicked grin.

With his next priority set, Naruto dashed to the annoying mage. The dagger flashed as he let out a flurry of strikes, but each one rebounded off of the Mage's clothing. _Really? His clothes? He's wearing a robe!_ Naruto blinked as the mage pulled out... An iron dagger to fight him. Wow... That was dumb. Naruto slashed at the mage's chest, but once again, his swipe bounced off.

"Gah! Damnit!" He shouted. "Why don't you die?"

The mage didn't answer, most likely because he was too busy trying to _not_ die. Naruto kicked the man in the chest, and followed up with a spinning slash with his Dagger. The mage let out a pained shout as the dagger flew across his face, leaving a large red gash across his right eye. Naruto followed up with a stab to the chest, before turning to the remaining archers.

Three.

Naruto knew this would be difficult and aggravating, as the archers were going to keep him at a distance, not charge him directly. The blonde dashed to the nearest one, who seemed to be the most stocked with arrows. With a flying leap, Naruto landed a heavy axe kick against the woman's chest, pushing her back by ten feet. She crashed into a tent, falling through the canvas. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Naruto shot a bolt of lighting at her, frying her where she was lying.

Two.

Naruto glanced at the two remaining archers. One was out of arrows, and the other was firing on him with reckless abandon, although the aim was atrocious. Not that Naruto could talk, as he was even worse. The one with no arrows wielded a shabby looking iron sword. Naruto charged him first with his steel dagger. The bandit blocked his first strike, but the second struck him in the arm. Naruto took advantage of the man's pain and slipped his dagger between his victim's ribs. Archers shouldn't resort to melee combat...

One.

Naruto swore as he jumped back in order to dodge an arrow. He grabbed one of his _throwaway_ daggers and flicked it at the Bandit. The bandit followed the dagger as it whizzed by him, that was a bad mistake. With his opponent's split-second distraction, Naruto charged. Within seconds, he'd regained a large amount of distance between him and the bandit. The bandit pulled back on the arrow.

_Shhhhhft!_

Naruto grunted as the arrow lodged itself into his shoulder. That was going to hurt in the morning. But he pushed through the pain, as he raked the dagger across the man's throat.

Naruto grunted as he jerked the arrow out of his shoulder. Well... Now he had to figure out which one was the leader...

* * *

**Final Note: Please review this chapter. I don't care if you say, "Wow, this is cool!" or actually give me a decent review. Also, the question of the day is: **** Do you plan on playing Elder Scrolls Online, and if so, what race do you plan on playing?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Dawnguard: 7**

**Vampire Lord: 7**

**Both: 1**

**Neither: 1**

**Kill everyone: 1 (-_- I won't write this, don't vote for it... I put it here, simply to show you the votes...)**

**A/N: **

**HOLY CRAP! How did Dawnguard and Vampire Lord get tied? That is really weird... Anyways, this is the last chapter for voting... So... Please make it count. Also, I decided to not count guests voting due to a friend of mine "Stuffing the Ballot Box" with Vampire Lord votes... Seriously, Mazexpert? Not cool, bro.**

**If you enjoy the foxified Naruto theme, then I would like to recommend the story, "****Journey of a Lilmothiit", by Jhonie. It's a great story, and I'm sure she'd enjoy having more readers... It might just get her to update more often, not that I can talk...**

* * *

_Chapter 5_

With a slight huff, Naruto walked through the gates of Whiterun. The guards had been unpleasant, to say the least, but they had let him inside after enough convincing. The threats of bodily harm may have influenced them a little bit, but Naruto was sure it was his natural charm... Right? With an amused smile, the fox-eared blonde grabbed the nearest person.

"Hey... You don't know where I can find a_ Proventus Avenicci_, do you?" he asked a short woman with dark brown hair.

"Oh, hello Khajiit."

"I'm not a-"

"Proventus is the Steward of Jarl Balgruuf. Follow this path until you get to Dragon's Reach. He'll be in there." she said, waving towards the immense building at the very apex of the town. Naruto blinked at the sight, before turning back to the woman.

"Thanks, I guess... I can't believe I didn't see that myself..." he said as he walked away. Really, it should have been pretty obvious, as it WAS a stereotypical "Castle on a Hill". You'd think they'd go with more originality... He shook his head, shaking his self-deprecating thoughts away. That was a bad habit...

Not two minutes later, Naruto found himself standing under the tall arches of the entrance of Dragon's Reach with a look of awe. Maybe it wasn't a stereotypical "Castle on a Hill"... With a slight twinge of trepidation, Naruto opened the large and imposing door...

"What? You were at Helgen when the Dragon attacked?" a loud, booming voice almost screamed. Naruto flinched at the sudden noise as his ears flattened against his scalp in surprise. In front of him, the Imperial that was with him in Helgen stood, presenting himself to the Jarl. He wore what looked like Iron armor that was covered in wear marks... It was most likely scavenged from a fallen enemy. Naruto shuddered at the thought of wearing a dead man's armor. Nevertheless, Naruto grinned widely as he strode forward to greet the man... Only to grabbed roughly by the shoulder and pulled backwards.

"What do you think you're doing? It's bad enough that the Jarl was interrupted by one intruder, but you, I will not suffer any more interruptions to befall Jarl Balgruuf." A Dark Elf had placed a strong hand on his shoulder, as another hand was on the hilt of her sword in a clear threat. The blonde raised hands in defense.

"Whoa! Let's not get hasty there, miss! I was at Helgen, too! HEY, IMPERIAL! Help me out here!" Naruto shouted at the Imperial, whose name he couldn't remember for the life of him.

"Is this true, Arius? Was the Khajiit with you at Helgen?"

"I'm not a-"

"He claims he is not a Khajiit. And yes, I was with him in Helgen."

"Thank you, Arius." Naruto said with a grin as he brushed away the Dark Elf's faltering hand. He made a note to not forget the man's name again... Kami knew he had trouble with names.

"Are you sure, young man? I have seen Khajiit who look very similar to you, although not here in Skyrim. In Elsweyr there are many Khajiit who have strange appearances... Perhaps you are unaware of your heritage." The Jarl said curiosity alight in his eyes. Naruto shuddered... When did an Jarl have a thirst for knowledge like that? A shiver ran through his tail and up through his ears, making them twitch.

"Can we drop the subject? I'm not exactly in the mood for this, today."

"Ah, I see the subject is sensitive to you." the Jarl said, disappointment radiating from his posture. But he brightened once again. "But what can I do for you..." The blonde nord trailed off with a pointed look.

"Naruto." The blonde supplied.

"Hmm... What a strange name. Well, what can I do for you, young Naruto?"

"I was informed that after completing my bounty, I was to come see a man named _Proventus Avenicci."_he said. The blonde's tail lashed around his feet as he thought of how much money he would get.

"Ah, so you are a capable one, are you? Avenicci, this young man has need of you. And Naruto, If you were indeed at Helgen, then I may have a job for you soon." the Jarl said, before the man named Proventus stepped forward.

"So you have a bounty for me? Let's see it." Proventus said, holding a hand out expectantly. Naruto supplied the paper with a roll of his eyes. He already didn't like this man.

"Ah, I see. The Silent Moon Camp. Alright, Naruto... Here's 100 gold for your services." the man said, handing the confused blonde a small bag of gold.

"WHAT? THAT'S IT? I was almost fucking fried! They had enchanted weapons! You have to be kidding me!" Naruto protested, despite taking the bag of gold and placing it in the coin purse strapped to his waist. He wasn't going to risk the man taking BACK his hard earned money. Not when there was that little.

"This is the standard price for bounties. If you wanted more money, then I suggest joining the... _Companions..."_ the man said with a sneer. Naruto filed that thought away for another day... Check out these _Companions _to get money. Right.

Proventus turned and walked away without saying another word...

"Well, Naruto... With that sorted out, I believe I have a job for Arius and yourself. Follow me, my friends." The Jarl said as he stood up. The man was at least a head taller than Naruto... Being a Nord, it was something to be expected... But it did nothing to spare Naruto from being seen as "Young man", or even, "Boy". Naruto followed dejectedly as the Jarl led them to a small room at the other side of the main hall. It seemed to be set up much like a shop.

"Farengar! Come out of there, you lousy excuse for a Court Wizard." the Jarl said to a closed door with a wry grin.

"I'm coming, Jarl Balgruuf! Just a moment!" a scrawny looking Nord, who looked to be in his early 30's stumbled out of the backroom of his shop, before steadying himself. He wore a dark blue robe with a hood shading his face. It was difficult to look the man in the eyes, due to them being partially hidden, but Naruto managed.

"Ah, are these the two survivors of the Dragon attack at Helgen? My, I have so many questions to ask... What did the dragon look like? Did it shout? How big was it? How about-" Farengar winced as he was interrupted.

"Farengar! Enough! Just give them the task we spoke about earlier. These two are capable of it, I'm sure." The Jarl said with a confidant smirk. Farengar nodded his head.

"If you say so... Well... I need the two of you to retrieve a certain object for me- Ah, when I say "retrieve", I mean delve into some old, most likely trapped, draugr infested ruins and retrieve a tablet for me. It's important to my research, you see. I'm researching Dragons and their language especially. There is something called a Dragonstone within Bleak Falls Barrow that I need for my research. If you would get that for me, I'm sure the Jarl will compensate you."

Naruto was salivating at the very thought of getting money. He liked money. He thrived on not being broke. So if that meant breaking into a tomb and grabbing a little rock, he'd do it.

"Let's do-"

"Here... I found it after getting a stolen artifact for a man in Riverwood." Arius said, procuring the stone from his pocket. His intimidating features seemed to lighten at the memory. Naruto blanched.

"You're a bleeding heart, aren't you Arius?" Naruto asked as his tail lashed the air in annoyance. Arius shrugged and turned back to Farengar.

"Ah! That's amazing! You are certainly more than the normal brutes that the Jarl foists on me! This should set my research ahead by 2 days, at least! Thank you, Arius. I will make sure you're rewarded greatly by Jarl Balgruuf." the man said, clutching the rock in his hands with an almost childlike glee. Naruto stepped away from the obviously obsessed man.

"If that's all you need from me, I'll be-" Naruto was interrupted as a door slammed open.

"Jarl Balgruuf! There's a dragon attacking the Western Outpost!"

"FUCK! I had to open my fucking mouth." Naruto said, palming his face in irritation. There was no helping the fact that he had bad luck with these kinds of things... Even in his last life, he was always being dragged into this shit, but at least at that time in his life, he'd wanted to help...

"Irileth, calm yourself and come with me. Arius, Naruto, you come as well."

* * *

Naruto jogged out of the Whiterun Hold, trailing behind the Dark Elf named Irileth, Arius, and a bunch of Guards. He had to be dragged into another mess, didn't he? Why couldn't he have been ordered by the Daedra to, oh maybe, "JUST WATCH THE DRAGONBORN". They could have said, "Do nothing else." then he'd have an excuse for getting out of this shit. But no, he hadn't even found the Dragonborn yet... So he had no excuses. And maybe fighting a dragon would help him with finding his charge. The blonde stumbled as he realized he was being left behind by the group. He sped up to match their speed with a little more effort. Finally, they stopped at the gates of Whiterun.

Irileth gave a... Somewhat rousing speech that could have been easily summed up as, "Let's go kill a dragon!" before they opened the gate and continued their jog. The Western Outpost was about two miles away from Whiterun, and was clearly visible from where they were. Although... He couldn't see a dragon.

As they ran, Naruto went through a mental checklist of his equipment... He had his daggers, all of which were strapped to his waist; his favorite steel dagger was on his chest

The two miles went by fast, as they continued their jog in hopes of saving their breath. Being out of breath when preparing to face a dragon would be horrible... Well, it might put Naruto out of his misery.

"Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts. No suicide via draconic fire." Naruto muttered with a shake of his head. They had just stopped to survey the scene from behind a large rock that was as tall as his shoulders.

"You say something?" Arius asked with a distracted turn of his head. The Imperial drew the blade on his hip and tested it with an expert swing, before lightly running it over the back of his arm to test the sharpness. The blade left a line of blood where it touched. Arius glanced back to the blonde, waiting for an answer.

"Erm... Nope. Must have been the wind." Naruto said. Arius nodded and went back to studying his sword.

Thankfully, Naruto was saved from the conversation. Sadly, his savior was Irileth.

"Alright, men... There's no sign of the Dragon, but it looks like he's been here..." she said, pointing to the destruction ahead. Naruto blinked as he realized how much was even left of the tower. The tower itself still stood, but it seemed like it would collapse if you gave it a few days. Rubble was everywhere, like it had rained from the sky. Fire seemed to have touched everything, judging from the scorches that marked the barren earth. Naruto, nodded. He'd been here, alright.

"I know it looks bad, but we've got to figure out what happened... And if that dragon is still skulking about... Spread out and look for survivors." She ordered, drawing her sword as she jogged to the tower.

Naruto drew his dagger in his right hand, as he lit up the lightning spell in his left... After this, he was going to have a chat with Farengar about learning more than just this one... The blonde jogged straight to the tower and into the doorway.

"No! Stay back! The Dragon is still around! He'll kill you too! He-He just snatched Tor from out of nowhere, and devoured him like he was a Sweet Roll." A guard said, crouching down in the opening of the tower. His head was bleeding, from where he was most likely hit with a piece of rubble. And the man's annoying ranting was probably from shock... Naruto frowned. Maybe he'd spied on the healers of Markarth a little too much...

"Oi, Irileth. We've got a survivo-"

**"Thurri du hin sille ko Sovengarde!"** a loud, booming voice screeched, which was quickly followed by a loud crash, as something heavy met the ground

"WHY DO YOU FUCKING LIZARDS KEEP FUCKING INTERRUPTING ME?" Naruto shouted, as he turned about face... Only to find the snout of a dragon inches from his own face. He was buffeted by warm air as the Dragon let out a breath. He could feel the hair dangling over his headband being pushed away... And then he felt the pull...

**"Yol..."**

"Fuck." Naruto mumbled. He dropped to the ground. Heat. The feeling was overpowering. The blonde could almost feel the hairs on his ears and tail burning up. As the beast snapped its jaws shut, Naruto rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the Dragon's claw swipe.

With his heart pounding in his ears, Naruto pushed himself out of the massive lizard's reach, before he shakily stood up beside a gaping guard.

"There's a reason I hate Dragons, you know." Naruto mumbled to the shocked nord. The man could only nod his head dumbly, before turning back to the fight. The blonde shinobi followed suit, as he drew 2 daggers from his belt and held them in a reverse grip. He grimaced as he looked at his meager arsenal, before shooting a look at Arius.

"Remind me to buy some bigger weapons." he said. The imperial grinned and nodded, as he flourished his broadsword in his right hand.

"Duly noted, mate." Arius said, before he turned contemplative. "Hmm... How about a little wager, then?" Arius grinned.

"What's the stakes?" Naruto asked, watching as Irileth fired off a fireball at the, now airborne Dragon. He wanted this conversation over so he could jump in the battle, himself.

"Killing blow wins. Loser buys the winner a new weapon." Arius said with a wry grin. Naruto returned it, before he raised his daggers.

"You're on!"

With two disposable daggers in hand, Naruto charged. With his heart pumping, and his blood running, the Fox-tailed shinobi's mind went into overdrive. Time seemed to slow down as his thoughts brought themselves together Dragons, he noted to himself, were known for having near impenetrable skin. In fact, there hide was used to fashion many types of armor, meaning conventional "Hack and Slash" methods were out. Similarly, their bones were harder than steel. But there was a slight flaw with this. Despite being harder than steel, they were also hollow. Without hollow bones, a dragon's skeletal system would be too heavy for flight. Combined with a metal-like hardness, a dragon's pneumatized bone mass was brittle and prone to breaking. This inherent trait was what allowed a dragon to fly, a skilled smith to create _dragonbone armor,_ and- hypothetically- what would help him kill the annoying lizard.

"Arius!" he called, pausing momentarily as he ducked under a spear-tipped tail. "We need something heavy!"

Arius didn't have time to question the tactic. He was driven to trust only his instincts. A soldier was trained to listen to what their instincts told them, as a soldier's instinct was the only thing that knew more than the man himself. An intelligent soldier would question whether it was instinct, or just his subconscious taking in the information from outside stimuli. But questioning orders got you killed. An intelligent soldier questioned. A smart soldier _listens_to orders.

Arius was a smart soldier.

Hearing the firm tone under his blonde friend's voice, Arius immediately turned to the closest Guard. The guard was injured, and relying on the long handle to support his weight. Arius silently apologized as he stole the guard's hammer, sheathed his sword, and turned back to the battle.

With a great leap, the dragon flung itself into the air. It roared as it flew in a circle, before it dive bombed an unfortunate guard. The man screamed in terror as he was tossed into the air, only to be silenced as he impacted the ground and _bounced_. Arius would have flinched at the thought, if he hadn't been focused. Holding the war hammer, the imperial dashed into the fight once again.

Naruto's crimson eyes narrowed as he rolled out of the way of, yet another, blast of fire. The heat, while manageable at a distance, was making him sweat in his leather armor. The scaled monstrosity dropped to the ground almost at his feet. It was experience and instinct that saved his hide. The blonde jumped backwards, away from the incoming dragon's claws. He ended the desperate leap in a half-hazard back handspring.

"Oi! Naruto!" Arius called. Naruto turned, just in time to see Arius _tossing_ a _Great Hammer_at him_._

_Are you fucking crazy?_He thought, as he stumbled from catching the hammer. He shot a glare at the imperial and opened his mouth to give what was most likely a snide remark, before the dragon's swipe erased any thought of conversation.

_Ok, Naruto... You got this... God, this thing is heavy... Reminds me of Zabuza's big ass sword..._

Breaking his thoughts, the blonde dashed backwards, avoiding a swipe from his massive opponent. He dropped between the dragon's legs. Rolling on his side, Naruto heaved the war hammer at the back of a leg. It howled in pain, before kicking him away. The air rushed out of his lungs as he fell on his back.

It was strange, once he had the moment to ponder it. He was well aware that dragon's possessed a large intellect. But the dragon seemed to ditch all reason and attack outright. He was glad for it, of course, but he assumed that a being capable of language and reason would be able to channel more than instinct into its combat...

He cut his thoughts short, with a shake of his head, before hefting the war hammer in a better striking position. With a silent prayer to whatever god was listening, Naruto charged.

The dragon turned, sensing the change in the air currents from its right side. It turned its head. They locked eyes. Jaw muscles expanded as it opened its gaping and bloody maw. Yellow teeth stained red flashed in the evening light. Naruto pulled the heavy hammer up to his chest. He locked his arms. Locked his body. Locked his eyes. All in preparation.

Sparks flew as Naruto held the ends of the handle with the dragon's sharp teeth biting into the steel enforced wood. The air was burning hot, and it took every fiber of his being to match the force of the dragon for even just a _second._ He didn't waste time. As the dragon opened its mouth, Naruto used the hammer as a kickstand to flip himself onto the head of the dragon. With one hand he grasped a handhold on the beast's muscular neck, and with the other he pulled up his weapon.

The beast let out a furious roar as Naruto kicked a particularly sensitive spot on its spine. It thrashed wildly and spit tongues of flame, tossing the blonde shinobi into the air. And then... It all seemed to slow down. His heart was pumping blood faster than it had ever had before. Black pupils tightened within red irises. Weightlessly, Naruto lifted the hammer above his head.

As almost anyone can tell you, gravity is a force often associated with falling objects and weight. Much like a god, but not quite, it decided that the young Man had spent enough time free from its domain. Being a fair force of nature, it latched onto the young man and the hammer, combining their mass into one deadly force, as it would be unfair to the hammer if he only attached himself to the falling human. Thus was the way of Gravity, a _fair_ force of nature.

Naruto brought the hammer down onto the dragon's skull with all the power he could muster. He could almost _hear_ the muscles tearing in his arms as the hammer impacted the flesh and bone with a solid _crunch_. The beast let out a whisper of a growl, before it finally expired.

Before anyone could utter a word, the dragon seemed to burst into flames. Naruto yelped as he abandoned his place in the dead beast's neck in favor of experiencing the _thrills_ of being roasted alive. He turned to study the strange event, but found something even odder. The dragon flesh seemed to disappear into ash, before it seemed to change into... Into... Naruto had no idea. It was like a light... It seemed to swirl in the air, searching for its target, much like a flock of vultures circling a carcass. And as one, the spiraling lights streamed towards their target. Naruto watched wide eyed as the lights were absorbed by Arius...

"What... The fuck... Was that?" Naruto asked, breaking the awed silence.

"He's the Dragonborn! He absorbed the soul of the dragon!" a guard supplemented. Naruto blanched as he thought about it.

"Well fuck..." Naruto didn't finish. The world was engulfed in darkness and the floor seemed to move on its own. Overtaken by the darkness, the blonde did nothing to fight it. It was too late. He was too tired. All feeling left his body, leaving him numb to the world.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I apologize for the long wait, as I've had very little inspiration for writing this… So… Yeah. Thankfully, I started playing Skyrim again, which got my brain juices flowing. Chapter isn't as long as the last one, but I promise the next one will be. Please leave a review and vote for either Dawnguard or Vampire Lord!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

* * *

_Rain. He remembered the rain. It was almost cliche. Hands soaked in blood. His body moved on its own, holding her side and whispering encouraging words that were left almost unintelligible over the roaring of his heartbeat. He was just a passenger- a witness to his own memories. They haunted his sleep._

_"Na... Naruto?" _

_"Shhh..." he said, touching a hand to the girl's lips. "Don't speak... Please don't talk... Save your strength, please!" _

_Blood flowed freely from around the hilt of a Kunai, lodged deeply in his love's chest. Naruto held a hand to the wound, afraid to pull the blade out and spill even more of her precious blood._

_"Naru... Naruto... I can't-"_

_"You'll make it! I promise you! I don't go back on my promises-"_

"Sakura!"

Red eyes shot open as his a dagger appeared in his hand in a defensive position. He scanned the room, taking in his surroundings. He was in a bed, in a room of some kind of building. Faintly so, he could hear music. An inn? His ears twitched. There was a closer sound. Breathing. Frightened breathing? He turned quickly to a darkened corner of the room, able to see just a small figure in what seemed like a sitting position. The blonde cursed the fact that his eyes hadn't adjusted yet.

"Who's there?" he gruffly called out, aiming the dagger to throw in case he was attacked. The shadow shuddered with movement as a young woman with reddish-brown hair was revealed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" she said, placatingly holding her hands in the universal gesture of surrender. Naruto blinked in confusion as he slid the dagger back up his sleeve.

"Erm..." he started, "It's uhh... It's my fault... Old habits die hard, I guess." he said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. After a moment of silence, he awkwardly presented a hand to shake.

"Sorry 'bout that... I'm Naruto Uzumaki." he said, giving her an embarrassed grin. The brunnette returned the nervousness with a laugh as she took his hand and flashed him a shy smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto. My name is Ysolda." she said as her hand dropped to the hem of her dress and held it tightly. They locked eyes for a moment, before she turned away and blushed lightly.

_A nervous habit, most likely, _Naruto mused as he sat up to a sitting position.

"Would you mind telling me how long I was out? I haven't collapsed like that in years..." Naruto said with a chuckle. Ysolda seemed to find that funny.

"Years? But you're so young!" Ysolda said, holding in a chuckle. "And it's only been a few hours at the most. Tell me, is it true? Do you know the Dragonborn?" she asked. Naruto stared at her in confusion...

"Oh! Yes, Arius and I are... Friends, I guess." he said. The guy was decent and could definitely hold himself in a fight... And he would _have_ to be close to the dragonborn if he didn't want the Daedra on his tail.

"Wow! That's so interesting! What's he like?" She asked. Naruto groaned... Was she? No... It wasn't possible.

"He's handsome..." Ysolda said with a strange look. Naruto shuddered...

_There... There are fangirls here? Why the hell did you send me here, Nocturnal?_

"Well, I will let you rest, Naruto... It was a pleasure meeting you! And if you see your friend, Arius... Tell him to see Ysolda at the Bannered Mare." she said the last part with a wink. Naruto shuddered again, fearing for his friend's sanity.

* * *

He couldn't help it. Sitting at the bar of The Bannered Mare, Naruto stole another glance at his confused, and most likely overwhelmed companion, before letting out a small chuckle. The Dragonborn. The blonde snickered as he pulled a metal tankard to his lips and dunked it back. The burning liquid felt pleasant as it slid down his parched throat.

"You've been doing that all night..." The scarred man grumbled. Arius was doomed. Absolutely doomed. Naruto shook his head and snickered again. There was a reason he avoided fame... It made him easy to track. And for someone like him, that was something he didn't want.

"Yeah... Arius? I think you have a few fans." Naruto said, pointing a thumb behind them. Arius turned around on his stool to find a few young heads ducking behind a doorway. Arius flashed a smile.

"Nah, they're just kids. Kids always admire adventurers." the imperial said. Naruto shrugged.

"Whatever you say, mate. Just don't come running to me when you're swarmed by women and children." he said, chuckling at his own joke. Arius rolled his eyes and shoved the blonde.

"Don't be like that, Naruto." Arius said with a good natured smile. "Hey, Naruto... I believe I owe you a weapon, right?"

Naruto seemed to brighten up in a moment's notice. He'd always enjoyed finding new ways to destroy things... Weapons were just another one of those ways. The fox-eared youth watched as Arius pulled an ancient looking sword from his bag. The rusted blade itself seemed to be overly embellished with runic carvings and seemed more decorative than really effective in a fight.

"Here... I found it while getting that dragonstone out of some ruin. I lost the bet, so it's yours." he said, handing him the sword.

"I thought the deal was, 'Loser _buys_ the winner a new weapon' not, 'Loser gives the winner a weapon they found in some dungeon." Naruto said with a grimace as he picked up the weapon and looked at it with barely restrained disdain. Was the imperial trying to get out of the bet?

"Ah," Arius said, his grin widening as he drew a finger across the sharp end of the blade. As his finger trailed the edge, a small flutter of frost fell from the blade. "But this blade is enchanted. Even if you don't want the blade, an enchantment can be learned from it and can be used to enchant another weapon."

Naruto's look of disappointment was soon replaced by intrigue. He'd gone against a bandit with an enchanted weapon... And he'd almost gotten taken out by him, too.. With a grin, Naruto took the sword and strapped it to his back.

"I think it'll suffice... This time." Naruto said with a lash of his tail. After a few moments, the grin lessened... "So... How do I enchant it, anyways?" he asked.

"Oh... I can't really explain it... You should go see the Court Mage up in Dragonsreach, he should be able to tell you." Arius said as he stood up from the bar, paid for his drink, and grabbed his pack from the ground beside his stool. "I should start my journey... I need to see the 'Greybeards' about being the Dragonborn..." the imperial said.

Naruto gave the man a halfhearted wave as he studied the blade it into the light, he could see the blue glow of magic reflecting from the surface of the blade. Even if the blade itself was trash, he'd bet the enchantment would be worth using. The blonde grinned as he put the blade back in its temporary place on his back, hanging limply from the improvised sheathe. And maybe after getting the enchantment... He could learn something about the magic here... As he stood up, Naruto looked back at the bartender.

"Hey... Do you know where I could learn some magic?"

* * *

50 gold lighter and much more on edge, Naruto found himself in the back of a carriage a few miles away from Winterhold. A loud _crack_ sounded from the trees, pushing the already on edge Naruto over the cliff.

"Whatwasthat?" he all but shouted as he sank lower into the carriage. "It wasn't a ghost... Was it?"

One might assume that living as a spirit for a few millenia would desensitize him from his childhood fear of ghosts... Yeah, that never happened.

"What kind of adventurer is frightened by loud noises?" the driver, a heavyset man in dark clothes asked with a chuckle. Naruto petulantly stuck his tongue out at the back of the man's head when he turned around.

"An adventurer who's still alive." Nauto replied, before ducking back down as another loud noise echoed across the clearing.

"It's just the trees kid... The cold freezes the water inside the trees, slowly building the pressure until the wood cracks. That's the sound yer hearin'. Now get your ass on the seat, lad. You're driving me crazy."

Naruto has faced down nine bijuu simultaneously, slain a dragon, and killed people on a regular basis... But the very thought of ghosts still made him run elicited the same reaction it did when he was 12.

"Yeah," Naruto said, sitting back down on the seat. "You're right... Just the trees.

Ten minutes later, Naruto was dropped off at the edge of Winterhold, watching as the driver retreated back to Whiterun, muttering about stupid Khajiits...

"Not a khajiit..." he muttered as he turned towards the town. He shivered slightly as he walked through the rundown town. There where multiple buildings that showed signs of having burned down, or at least blown up. Other buildings were well maintained but showed their age. As he passed one of the ruins and turned a corner, he came face to face with the reason he was there.

The college of Winterhold proudly pierced the clouds (Low hanging though they were, the image was still impressive) with its three towers, one of which ended in a taller spire. It stood tall on its island of stone, connected to Whiterun by only its bridge. The bridge itself was almost as impressive as the college, with its large gateway and twisting walkway lit by magically powered beams of light. Stopping briefly to admire the view, Naruto studied the archway's carvings closer.

"I didn't expect anything like this..." he muttered.

"Whether it was expected matters not. You can't gain entry to the college."

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned around to find himself nose-to-neck with a female High Elf with a smirk that screamed _SELF ENTITLED! _Naruto stared blankly at the woman before giving her a confused look.

"Umm... Why? It's a place of learning, isn't it? You mind repeating that, I could have sworn you just said-" the elf cut him off.

"That is indeed what I said." she said, smirking at his annoyance. Naruto glared at the yellow skinned woman.

"And why ever not?" he asked, his voice reverberating as he let out a small growl to get his point across. She remained unfazed.

"What is it you seek to gain from the college?" she asked with a teasing tone. It wasn't a flirtatious teasing, but the kind of teasing you get from someone who thinks themselves above everyone else.

"I want to learn about magic, why else would I want to go inside?" he asked, clearly aggravated by the woman's annoying behavior.

"Oh really? Why would you want to do that?" she asked, feigning interest.

"Because I need to use magic!" Naruto shouted. His ears flattened against his hair and his tail lashed angrily, brushing snow in every which way.

"That's a lousy reason..." she said, smirking in victory. Naruto had to resist the urge to punch the woman in the mouth and erase that stupid smirk.

"It's so I can protect my comrades, ok? Is that good enough?" he asked, breathing deeply to calm himself. The woman seemed satisfied with that answer.

"Then the school of alteration may have what you are looking for. But to gain entry, you need to pass a small test."

"What kind of test?" Naruto asked.

"The fury spell has saved the life of many a mage. Cast that spell at this here rune." she pointed to a carving of an eye on the floor. "And you may pass. If you do not have the spell, you may try a court mage or I can teach it to you... For a price."

Naruto sighed angrily as he dug out his coin purse and counted the coins. He had about 4... 500 coins give or take a few... He could probably afford it. But he just knew the irritating woman had been leading to this since the begining...

"Fine... How much?" he asked.

"30 Septims." she said, holding out a palm. Naruto gave her the coins and she smiled appreciatively. Fucking bitch.

"Alright... This will sting a bit." she said, before shoving her finger into his eye. Naruto instantly let out a scream of pain.

"Oh, stop whining... It's only pain, kid."

"You shoved your finger in my fucking eye! I should show you how it feels, bitch!"

"Shut up and cast the spell already." she commanded. Naruto, covering a bruised eye with one hand, and with the other, calling the spell out. It was an odd feeling to bear witness to for the first time, he mused. The first spell was easy to deal with, as all he did was call forth the only spell that was imprinted into his mind and _push_ with his magicka. Now with multiple spells, there was a sort of... Fork in the road, so to speak. If he pushed the magicka left, he would use the lightning spell that he'd learned (And still didn't bother to learn the name of...) and if he pushed right, he'd cast the fury spell he'd just learned. It was an odd change from molding chakra... And a lot more complicated to explain, which was why people just accepted it.

Naruto fired the spell at the center of the eye and watched it glow for a brief moment before the high elf approached him.

"That wasn't so bad, was it? Well done! Now I will lead you to- Hey! Where you going?"

"Away from you..."

"Oh... Well Mirabelle will be waiting for you..." she said dejectedly. Was she just dense, or did she _not_ know why he was freaked out?

* * *

At one point in Naruto's life it had been well known to many, friends and strangers alike, that anything of the academic variety would be hard pressed to stick in the young shinobi's head. This was a fact of life for the blonde, one that was quite easily accepted- as anyone who had difficulty comprehending the more complicated processes of life tended not to care for them.

On the other hand, when it came to the more abstract ideas, there were few who could compete with him. Naruto was a master of thinking up brilliant and unconventional plans while under pressure, a trait that was particularly invaluable in his former profession.

Yet, as he stood in the large auditorium-like room of the college, dressed in a ridiculously designed robe and hood, listening to a woman give a passionate speech about the "Validity of the School of Restoration", he couldn't help but feel his mind wander to more exciting things... Like the recreation of his chakra pools!

It wasn't as if he thought restoration magic was useless, as it seemed the few students who even chose to show up to the lecture seemed to believe, judging by their snickers and eye-rolling... But he'd long ago accepted his inability to perform any kind of healing technique, be it magic or jutsu.

So he continued to ponder, scratching his chin as he did so. Naruto pondered on the makeup of Magicka, wondering if it resembled the mental energies of chakra. He pondered on possible substitutes for physical energy- assuming Magicka resembled its counterpart. He pondered-

"You, New Student!"

Naruto ceased his pondering in bewilderment as he was rocketed back to the real world. His ears twitched as he pointed to himself.

"Uhh... Me?" he asked. The manic woman nodded gravely.

"Yes, Khajiit. You." she said, her eyes seemingly boring into his very soul. "I can see that for some reason, my lecture is boring you. Would you care to explain?"

At once, the blonde found himself at a loss for words.

"Well... You... Erm... I don't actually care all that much for Restoration magic..."

Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say...

"Restoration is a perfectly valid school of magic!" she all but yelled. The dozen or so students who stood around began to echo snickered whispers.

"I never said it wasn't!" Naruto petulantly shouted back. "Just that it wasn't for me!"

"Oh yeah? I'll prove how useful it is!" she said, before suddenly turning on her heels and leaving with a huff.

"I knew Colette was close to cracking, but this takes the sweet roll!" a young mage commented loudly, as they all left the auditorium. Naruto sighed in confusion... 30 minutes of attending the college, and he was already confused... Which he silently admitted was a new record for any scholarly pursuits.

XxXxX

"That your first lecture?"

Naruto spun around to find a young, red-headed Breton woman standing nearby. Naruto grinned.

"Yep! I hope others aren't that boring!"

"No, the other professors tend to be more..." she paused to think of a word. "More hands on, I suppose."

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked.

"well, for example... Yesterday Tolfdir took myself and a few other students to a dig site to lend a hand..." she said. Naruto blinked... It wasn't what she said that made him curious, but how she said it. He felt there was a lot more to this "Field Trip" than what was mentioned.

"Is that all you did?" he asked, attempting to dig for info. The Breton hesitated.

"Y-yeah." she said, before changing the subject. "Anyways, my name is Mariette Lataille." she said, holding out a hand. Naruto took it.

"I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki..." he said as he shook her hand. "And I'm not a khajiit." he added with a twitch of his tail. She laughed.

"I never thought you were." Mariette said with a soft laugh. That was the very moment Naruto decided he liked her.

* * *

**Okay, nonexistent members of my nonexistent cult, it is time to announce the winner of my poll! **

**…**

**…**

**It's Vampire Lord.**

**Tell me what you think in a review and I shall respond with post-haste! **

**This chapter, the 100th reviewer gets the special privilege of being mentioned in the next chapter, so… Review like you've never reviewed before!**

**Finally, I would like to apologize for the short length of this chapter, but I couldn't seem to fit much else into it. Next chapter will be out much sooner than this late update- although it was not the latest it had ever been- I assure you. Once again, rate me, review me, and hopefully love me. **

**-Kuromaru-kun **


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